//------------------------------// // Scouting Ahead // Story: Music of the Night // by CharlieOist //------------------------------// “So, Ms. Pie…” Nightsong began, stopping when the pink party mare suddenly appeared in front of him, bouncing backwards just as easily as she had forwards. The two had left the others to finish cleaning up camp while they scouted ahead. The scouting had been silent and rather uneventful, with neither one speaking for fear of attracting monsters. Now, though, they were on their way back, and Nightsong wanted to fill the silence that had plagued them for so long. “Yes, Mr. Redtail?” Pinkie asked, drawing out the word for several seconds as she bounced. “Are you going to Princess Luna’s birthday party next week?” Nightsong blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Pinkie looked confused for a second, then broke out into a wide grin. “Oh, Mr. Redtail, you’ve gone and mixed up your days! The princess birthday is still months away. Don’t worry, I’ve done that before. One time I got so confused I put next year on an invitation that I sent out to all of my friends, and none of them showed up for the party that was actually the next week! Isn’t that silly? And then-“ “Hold on a moment, Ms. Pie-“ “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s Pinkie, Nightsong!” “Er, yes, Pinkie. Give me a moment, please.” The black unicorn stopped for a moment, his horn glowing. An invitation, with the royal seal on it, appeared in front of him, already opened. He began to read it out loud. Dear Mr. Redtail, Princess Luna has requested your services for her birthday party on the nineteenth day of the twelfth moon of the Year of the Sister’s Reign 2507. The party will include- Nightsong stopped, pointing to the words on the paper. “See? Next week.” Pinkie’s mane seemed to deflate before him, the pink mare’s eyes filling with tears. “But….W-why? Why wouldn’t they tell me? Why would they…Lie?” She looked at the ground, tears falling from her eyes as she sobbed quietly. Nightsong was uncomfortable. He felt bad about having broken the news to Pinkie, news which, obviously, had been meant to be kept from the pink mare. He went and put his hoof around her. “There, there. We’ll just have to bring you to the party some other way. And I think I have the perfect way.” Suddenly, a violin appeared out of thin air and floated over to the pink pony. “Can you play?” Pinkie slowly looked up, taking the instrument in her hooves and looking at it for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes, placed the instrument under her chin, took the bow, and began to play a simple, sad melody. When she finished, she opened her eyes to find Nightsong staring at her in amazement, his jaw having dropped all the way to the floor. She giggled, reaching over and pulling down on the wayward appendage, causing it to roll up like an old fashioned curtain before settling back into its rightful position. “That was…Beautiful. Tell me, what piece was it?” Pinkie blushed. “Oh, just a little song I made up as I played. It’s not much,” she added, noticing Nightsong looking amazed again. The black unicorn smiled. “Ladies and gentlecolts, we have our violinist!” He pretended to present Pinkie to a make believe audience. There was a loud thwump as Pinkie’s tail and mane popped back into their messy state. She flew through the air and tackled the black unicorn, squeezing him as hard as she could. “Really? You mean it? Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Nightsong tried to say something, but all that came out was a small croak as Pinkie crushed him. The pink party pony grinned sheepishly as she set him down. “Sorry. I was just so happy!” The unicorn grinned,” Don’t mention it. After all, what are friends for, right?” He began walking back down the corridor. Pinkie sat for a moment, wondering if she actually considered the mysterious pony a friend. Realizing she did, she smiled after him. “Thanks…Friend.” She jumped to her feet, bouncing after the unicorn as they made their way back to the others. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** The ancient cathedral stood separate from the castle. The old structure was still completely intact, and looked as though someone had been maintaining it since the castle had been abandoned. Two large gargoyles stood on pillars that sat beside the entrance, their eyes a pair of slightly glowing rubies that made it look as though the creatures may actually be alive. The clock in the tower at the top still worked, its hands moving ever closer to the midnight hour. Right now, it was nine o’clock, and as the hands moved into position, a loud bell struck out the hour, the ground trembling slightly as they did so. Stone creatures of every sort covered the structure, each of them a creature of the night, and each of them looking alive. The most impressive statue, however, stood in front of the entrance, so that any pony that wanted to go in would have to pass by it. The statue in question stood close to ten feet tall, excluding the pedestal it was on, which rose it off the ground at least two feet. Two dark blue sapphires, enchanted long ago to look and act like real eyes, stared down at the seven ponies that now stood in front of it. Nightmare Moon’s stern visage almost sent many of them running, and only the fact that they were together kept the six friends in place. The black unicorn that headed the group, however, simply smiled as though he had found the greatest dragon’s treasure he’d ever seen. “My friends,” he announced, turning back to the others with the gleam of discovery in his eyes. “Welcome,” here, he swept his hoof back to indicate the massive structure behind him, “To the Temple of the New Moon!”